Boxing betting odds favor Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko to beat WBO super featherweight champion Roman Martinez for the title at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on June, Saturday 11th.
Roman Martinez +1800
Vasyl Lomachenko -3600
The question in the minds of people who bet on boxing is how come a fighter with only 6 professional bouts to his name is the favorite over a guy who has won 29 fights – 17 by way of knockout. And perhaps the answer to that question can be found in Lomachenko’s amateur background. ‘Hi-Tech’ is a two-time, Olympic gold medalist, a two-time world champion, a one-time European championship, and is widely considered arguably the greatest amateur boxer of all time with a 396-1 record. Lomachenko turned pro in 2013 and defeated Jose Ramirez by TKO in his debut. He suffered his first – and so far only – loss at the hands of Orlando Salido the following year. He is 4-0 since that for an overall record of 6-1.
Coincidentally, Martinez beat Salido for his third super featherweight title, and then fought him to a draw to retain it last year. Of course, boxing betting fans should not go ahead and jump to the conclusion that if Salido beat Lomachenko and Martinez beat Salido, ergo Martinez can beat Lomachenko, quod erat demonstrandum. Especially if we take into account that Salido’s win over the Ukrainian was a tainted victory. Referee Laurence Cole either didn’t know or didn’t care that Salido used Lomachenko’s genitals as a speed bag. In fact, Cole’s lack of concern for low blows could easily land him a gig as an NBA referee. Additionally, the judges gave the split decision to Salido even though Lomachenko outpunched him 164 to 142. Nonetheless, Lomachenko took responsibility for deviating from his corner’s instructions and promised to learn from the experience.
Should Lomachenko defeat Roman ‘Rocky’ Martinez (which begs the questions, how many boxers are nicknamed Rocky, really), he would make history by becoming a two-weight world champion in only 7 pro fights (Lomachenko is the current WBO featherweight champion and moved up to 130 lbs to face Martinez because he got tired of waiting for other champions who refused to fight him). Martinez is having none of that happy crappy, though. “Many people (who bet on boxing) don’t believe that I can beat this guy,” he said. However, he doesn’t care if he stops Lomachenko’s “dreams or whatever.” That’s harsh. This is one of those rare instances in which the defending champion is actually the boxing betting underdog. Notwithstanding that, Martinez hopes to feed off the energy of his fellow Puerto Ricans who will likely gather in the Big Apple for the Puerto Rican Day Parade.